JP2001165554A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator managing an open date and a residue of a food material stored therein and indicating food material plan information including a purchase candidate food material and a menu. SOLUTION: Whether the food material is a newly introduced food material, an externally removed food material from the refrigerator or a reintroduced food material is decided based on food material information read from a bar code sensor and information of a storage information database. In the case of the new material, the food material information is stored in the database. In the case of the removed material, a removing date and time are detected, and updated to information out of the refrigerator. In the case of the reintroduced material, the information in the refrigerator is updated. When the external time of the material removed externally is decided to be used, the information of the material is erased. Food material information approaching to its open date is extracted from the purchasing date and the open date of the material as a purchasing candidate food material. Then, menu information and deficient food material information capable of being cooked is extracted from the candidate material and the menu and the material information of the database.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator for managing food information including the expiration date of the food stored therein and outputting food planning information including purchase candidate foods and menus. Manages the expiration date and remaining amount of stored ingredients, recommends foods with expiring expiration dates or ingredients with low remaining amount as ingredients to be purchased by users, and uses these ingredients The present invention relates to a refrigerator that presents menus as recommended menus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a refrigerator having a built-in Internet function has been developed and attracted attention as one of information home appliances. For example, Electrolux of the United Kingdom has announced a prototype of a refrigerator with a built-in Internet function that has a liquid crystal touch panel on the door of the refrigerator (http: // www.
electrolux.co.uk/screenfridge/). In this refrigerator, the user can operate a touch panel to request food delivery, menu extraction, and the like.

[0003]

As described above, even a sophisticated refrigerator which has a built-in Internet function and can operate a touch panel to perform a food delivery request, menu extraction, etc. It is necessary for the user to manage the remaining amount of ingredients and the expiration date in
There are the following problems.

[0004] (1) The expiration date has expired because the ingredients inside the refrigerator are left unnoticed without notice.
Wastes ingredients.

[0005] (2) Since the user does not notice that the remaining amount of food is low and does not replenish it, he notices that the food is insufficient at the stage of cooking and cannot cook.

(3) Foods with a small remaining amount use the space in the refrigerator, and the space in the refrigerator cannot be used efficiently.

As described above, in the conventional refrigerator, unless the user himself manages the remaining amount and the expiration date of the food in the refrigerator at the same time, the problem is that the food and the space in the refrigerator cannot be used effectively. There is. In addition, it is troublesome for the user to manage the remaining amount of the ingredients and the expiration date by himself, and there is also a problem that the management cannot be performed completely.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator that manages the expiration date and remaining amount of ingredients stored therein and presents food planning information including purchase candidate ingredients and menus.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 1 manages ingredients information including the expiration date of ingredients stored therein, and includes ingredients for purchase candidates and menus. A refrigerator that outputs plan information, where each food stored in the refrigerator and the type of each food that was once stored in the refrigerator and then removed from the refrigerator, the date of purchase, and whether it is stored in the refrigerator Based on a storage information database storing storage information including information inside / outside the refrigerator that is information on whether or not, information on foodstuffs to be taken in and out, and storage information stored in the storage information database, Whether the food to be taken in and out is to be newly placed in the refrigerator, taken out of the refrigerator, or once taken out of the refrigerator It is determined whether the food can be added, and if the food is a newly added food, the type of the food, the date of purchase, and the inside / outside information of the refrigerator set as the information in the refrigerator are stored in the storage information database. If the food is stored and taken out of the refrigerator, the date and time of the taken-out food is detected, and the storage information database is changed so that the information inside / outside the refrigerator of the food is changed to the information outside the refrigerator. If the foodstuff is once taken out of the foodstuff and re-added, the date and time of reloading is detected, and the stored information database is updated so that the inside / outside information of the foodstuff is changed to the information inside the refrigerator. Food information management means, receiving the food extraction date and time information detected by the food information management means, and based on the food extraction date information, the food is stored in the refrigerator The external time taken out of the refrigerator is measured, and when the external time exceeds a predetermined time, the food is determined to have been used outside the refrigerator, and the storage information on the food is stored in the storage. When the information is deleted from the information database and the re-input date and time information is received during the measurement of the external time, the external food management means for stopping the measurement and the determination including the expiration date information on each food stored in the refrigerator. A judgment information database for accumulating information, comparing the purchase date of each ingredient stored in the storage information database with the expiration date of each corresponding ingredient stored in the judgment information database, Purchase candidate extraction means for extracting and outputting information on ingredients with imminent deadlines as purchase candidate ingredients / consumption recommended ingredient information, and storing food menus and ingredient information that is the ingredients Menus to be stacked, purchase candidate ingredients / consumption recommended ingredient information extracted by the purchase candidate extraction means, and menus that can be prepared with purchase candidate ingredients / consumption recommended ingredients based on the menu and the ingredient information stored in the menu. It is a gist of the present invention to have menu selection means for extracting and outputting information and insufficient food ingredient information that is insufficient in this menu.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, based on the information of the food to be taken in and out and the storage information of the storage information database, the food is a newly input food into the refrigerator or an external food from the refrigerator. Judgment of ingredients to be taken out or re-introduced.In the case of newly introduced ingredients, the type of ingredients, date of purchase, and information in the refrigerator are stored in a database. At the same time, the database is updated to the information outside the refrigerator, and in the case of re-input ingredients, the re-input date and time is detected, and the database is updated to the information in the refrigerator. Based on the information, the external time during which the food is taken out of the refrigerator is measured, and when the external time exceeds a predetermined time, it is determined that the food is used, and the food is used. It deletes from the stored information, compares the date of purchase of each ingredient in the database with the expiration date, extracts information about the expiration date of the ingredient as purchase candidate ingredient / consumption recommended ingredient information, and purchase candidate ingredient / consumption recommendation. In order to extract and output menu items that can be prepared with the candidate / consumable recommended ingredients and menu items that are lacking in the menu, based on the menu items stored in the menu information and the menu and the menu item information, Can accurately know the ingredients whose expiration date is approaching, as well as the menus that use this ingredient and the ingredients that are missing from this menu, forgetting that the expiration date will expire, and Waste such as throwing away can be eliminated, and economy can be achieved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator for managing food information including the expiration date of food stored therein and outputting food planning information including candidate foods and menus. Means for inputting basic information including the number of people required to calculate the amount of ingredients required for menus to be presented to the user, and pasted on the ingredients to be put into and out of the refrigerator, A bar code sensor that reads a bar code that encodes the food information including the type, each food stored in the refrigerator and the type of each food once taken out of the refrigerator after being stored in the refrigerator, the date of purchase, A storage that stores storage information including information on the inside / outside of the refrigerator, which is information on whether or not it is stored in the refrigerator, and information on external time being taken out of the refrigerator. Information database, based on the food information read by the barcode sensor and the storage information stored in the storage information database, whether the food read by the barcode sensor is to be newly placed in the refrigerator, It is determined whether the food is to be taken out of the refrigerator or to be put in again after being taken out of the refrigerator. If the food is newly put in, the new storage date is used as the purchase date. In addition to setting the date, the inside / outside information of the food is set as information in the refrigerator, and the information is stored in the storage information database together with the type of the food, and when the food is taken out of the refrigerator, the food is taken out. Detects the date and time of removal and updates the information inside / outside the refrigerator to the information outside the refrigerator. If the food is to be re-added after being taken out, the external time information of the food is deleted from the storage information database, and the information is stored in the storage so that the inside / outside information of the food is changed to the information inside the refrigerator. A foodstuff information management unit that updates the product information database, receives the food extraction date and time information detected by the foodstuff information management unit, and determines the external time at which the foodstuff is being taken out of the refrigerator based on the food extraction date and time information. Measure and accumulate the measured external time in the storage information database, and when the external time exceeds a predetermined time, determine that the food is used outside the refrigerator, and store the food related to the food. When the object information is deleted from the stored item information database and the re-entry date and time information is received during the measurement of the external time, the counting is performed. External food management means to be stopped, a determination information database storing determination information including the expiration date information for each food stored in the refrigerator, and a purchase date of each food stored in the storage information database. Purchase candidate extraction means for comparing the expiration date of each corresponding ingredient stored in the determination information database and extracting information on the approaching expiration date as purchase candidate ingredient / consumption recommended ingredient information; And a menu database for accumulating food information as raw materials, purchase candidate food / consumption recommended food information extracted by the purchase candidate extraction unit, basic information input from the input unit, and stored in the menu database. Candidate ingredients for purchase based on menu and ingredients information /
Menu extraction means for extracting menu information that can be cooked with recommended consumption ingredients and information on missing ingredients that are lacking in this menu; purchase candidate ingredients / consumption recommended ingredient information extracted by the purchase candidate extraction means and extracted by the menu extraction means It is essential to have an output means for outputting the prepared menu information and the missing food information.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, based on the food information read by the bar code sensor and the stored information in the stored information database, the newly introduced food into the refrigerator or the food taken out from the refrigerator is taken out. Or re-input ingredients, determine the type of ingredient, purchase date, refrigerator information in the database in the case of newly input ingredients, and in the case of externally extracted ingredients, detect the extraction date and time and Update the database to the information outside the refrigerator, in the case of re-input ingredients, detect the re-input date and time, delete the external time information of the food from the database, update the database to the information in the refrigerator, and perform the detection. The external time during which the food is being taken out of the refrigerator is measured based on the extracted date and time information of the food, and when the external time exceeds a predetermined time, the food is used. Is determined, the storage information relating to the food is deleted from the database, the purchase date of each food in the database is compared with the expiration date, and the food information whose expiration date is approaching is purchased candidate food / consumption recommended food information. Menu information that can be prepared with purchase candidate / consumption recommended ingredients based on the menu stored in the purchase candidate / consumption recommended ingredient information and menu database and the ingredient information, and missing ingredient information that is lacking in this menu By extracting and outputting, the user can accurately know the ingredients whose expiration date is approaching, and also know the menu using this ingredient and the ingredients that are missing in this menu. Forgetting the expiration date, it is possible to eliminate waste such as throwing away foodstuffs, thereby achieving economy.

Further, the present invention according to claim 3 provides the invention according to claim 2.
Or the invention according to 3, further comprising a weight measuring means for measuring the weight of the food put into the refrigerator, wherein the stored information database stores the weight information of the food measured by the weight measuring means in correspondence with the food. Further accumulating, the judgment information database further accumulates a predetermined remaining weight threshold value which is to be stored at least in the refrigerator for each foodstuff, and the purchase candidate extracting means is accumulated in the storage information database. By comparing the weight of each food item with a predetermined remaining weight threshold value of the corresponding food material stored in the determination information database, information on the remaining food material is extracted as the purchase candidate food / consumption recommended food information. The gist of the present invention is that

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the weight of foodstuffs to be stored in the refrigerator is measured, the weight information is stored in a database, and at least each foodstuff is stored in the refrigerator at a minimum. The predetermined remaining weight threshold is also stored in the database, the weight of each food stored in the database is compared with the predetermined remaining weight threshold, and the information of the remaining low food is used as purchase candidate food / consumption recommended food information. Extraction allows the user to know the ingredients that are low or missing, and also knows the menu that uses the ingredients that have low remaining, That it is not possible to cook because there is not enough, and that it is not possible to effectively use the space in the refrigerator because the ingredients that are low in amount use the space of the refrigerator It is possible to solve the problem.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second or third aspect of the present invention, food information including the type of food to be recorded, which is encoded into a bar code attached to the food placed in the refrigerator, is input. The gist further comprises food information input means, and bar code output means for encoding the food information input by the food information input means into a bar code attached to the food and outputting the bar code.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when there is no bar code in the food to be put into the refrigerator, the food information input by the food information input means is encoded into a bar code and output. Ingredients without barcodes can also be managed in the refrigerator.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1A and 1B are a perspective view and a block diagram showing a circuit configuration, respectively, of an external structure of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The refrigerator of the present embodiment manages the expiration date and the remaining amount of the ingredients stored therein, and presents to the user menu information using ingredients with an approaching expiration date or ingredients with a reduced remaining amount. As shown in FIG.
It has a basic information input unit 1 and an information output unit 10 provided on the front surface of the door, and has a barcode sensor 2 provided at the open / close end of the door.

The basic information input unit 1 constitutes an input means composed of, for example, a touch panel, and includes basic information including the number of persons required to calculate the amount of food necessary for menus to be presented to the user; In other words, menu items such as the number of family members (the number of menu items on the menu), the composition of the family (age and gender of the family), and the amount of food that you want to keep in the refrigerator and the remaining amount of food that can be used as a guide for purchasing, etc. It is used to enter information that is required for recommendation.

The information output section 10 constitutes an output means constituted by, for example, a liquid crystal display, and displays information on recommended food ingredients and information on recommended menus prepared by the refrigerator of the present embodiment. Note that, in FIG.
As an example, “0” indicates an egg as a recommended food ingredient, and “Mavo Tofu” is displayed as a recommended menu.

The bar code sensor 2 is a sensor for reading a bar code affixed to a food material, and food information such as the type of food material is encoded and recorded on the bar code. And the ingredients are put in the refrigerator,
Alternatively, the bar code attached to the food is read when taken out of the refrigerator.

More specifically, the bar code attached to each food is read by the bar code sensor 2 immediately before each food is put in the refrigerator, and the bar code is read immediately after the food is taken out of the refrigerator. Read by sensor 2,
It is designed to be supplied to a food information extraction unit 3 described later.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram showing the overall circuit configuration of the refrigerator according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1B, the refrigerator according to the embodiment includes the basic information input unit 1, a bar code sensor 2, and an information output. In addition to the part 10, the bar code sensor 2
The food information extraction unit 3 which constitutes the food information management means to which the information read in the above is inputted, the external food management unit 4 which constitutes the external food management means which manages the food material taken out from the refrigerator, and which is stored in the refrigerator A storage database 5 that constitutes a storage information database that stores storage information such as the type of each ingredient and the date of purchase, a determination information database 6 that stores determination information including the expiration date information of each ingredient,
A purchase candidate extraction unit 7 that constitutes a purchase candidate extraction unit that extracts imminent ingredient information such as the expiration date as a purchase candidate ingredient;
The menu includes a menu database 8 for storing menus of dishes and information on ingredients as raw materials thereof, and a menu extraction unit 9 constituting menu extraction means for extracting menu information and information on missing ingredients.

FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b) are a perspective view and a block diagram, respectively, showing an external structure of a refrigerator according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The refrigerator shown in the figure is a weight constituting a weight measuring means capable of measuring the whole weight of the refrigerator or the whole food stored in the refrigerator with respect to the refrigerator of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Only the point of having a sensor 11 is different, and the other configuration is the same as that of the embodiment of FIG. 1, and the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals. The weight information measured by the weight sensor 11 is supplied to the food information extracting unit 3.

The weight sensor 11 measures the total weight of the refrigerator or the total weight of foods stored in the refrigerator. By measuring the total weight in this way, From the change in the total weight when food is put into the refrigerator or when the food is taken out of the refrigerator, the weight of the food put into the refrigerator or the food taken out of the refrigerator can be calculated. However, the weight sensor 11 is not limited to the one that measures the total weight as described above, and may be a sensor that can measure the weight of each foodstuff alone.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are a perspective view and a block diagram, respectively, showing an external structure of a refrigerator according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The refrigerator shown in the figure is different from the refrigerator of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 2 in that the food information input unit 12 constituting the food information input means and the bar code output unit 13 constituting the bar code output means are further provided.
2 except for the following point, and the other configuration is the same as that of the embodiment of FIG. 2, and the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The food information input section 12 is for inputting food information including the type of food to be encoded and recorded in a bar code to be attached to the food placed in the refrigerator, and the bar code output section 13 is provided for the food material. The food information input by the information input unit 12 is encoded into a barcode to be attached to the food and output.

That is, the foodstuff information input section 12 and the barcode output section 13 are used when the barcode is not attached to the foodstuff to be put in the refrigerator, and are used for the foodstuff to be put in the refrigerator. When information, for example, information such as the type of food is input in the food information input unit 12,
Since the input information is output as a barcode by the barcode output unit 13, the output barcode is pasted on food.

The refrigerators according to the first to third embodiments described above are based on the first embodiment and have the weight sensor 11 added thereto as described above, which is the second embodiment. The third embodiment has a configuration in which a food information input unit 12 and a barcode output unit 13 are added to the form.
Since each of the components is basically common, a specific operation will be described below while giving a detailed description of each of the components commonly to each embodiment.

First, as shown in FIG. 7, the refrigerator database 5 stores the type of each ingredient stored in the refrigerator and the type of each ingredient once stored in the refrigerator and then taken out of the refrigerator, ie, the name of the ingredient and the purchase. A date / time, weight, information on whether or not the refrigerator is stored in the refrigerator, information inside / outside the refrigerator, and a timer T indicating an external time T placed outside after being taken out of the refrigerator. Store information including storage.

The storage database 5 may store, in addition to the external time T indicated by the timer T, information on the date and time when the food was taken out of the refrigerator. External Food Management Department 4
And the external food management unit 4 counts and monitors the external time T during which the food is placed outside.
Is stored in the storage database 5.

The judgment information database 6 accumulates set values such as the expiration date information of each food and the threshold value of the remaining weight of the food stored in the refrigerator which should be kept at a minimum.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of data stored in the judgment information database 6. As shown in FIG. 8, the judgment information database 6 stores the expiration date and the remaining Set values such as a weight threshold are accumulated.

The set value is, for example, a value for extracting a foodstuff recommended to be purchased from the foodstuff information stored in the storage database 5. In other words, if the expiration date is set as the set value, if there is a food with an approaching expiration date, this food is extracted as a purchase candidate ingredient to recommend that it is better to purchase it soon, or This food material is extracted as recommended consumption food material because it is better to use it early in cooking and consume it. Also, if the remaining weight threshold is set as the set value, the ingredients that have been reduced to this remaining weight threshold,
For example, if there is butter as an ingredient and the remaining weight threshold of the butter is 10 g, when the butter is reduced to, for example, about 8 g, a candidate ingredient to be purchased is recommended to recommend that the butter ingredient should be purchased soon. The butter food is always stored in a refrigerator with a minimum weight threshold of 10 g or more.

The menu database 8 stores food information such as menus of dishes, their ingredients, and recipe information. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10, the menu database 8 stores menu names of dishes, raw materials necessary for the menu, amounts of raw materials for one person, and recipe information.

The food information extraction unit 3 is a bar code sensor 2
Based on the food information such as the type of food read in step 1 and the storage information stored in the storage database 5, whether the food read by the barcode sensor is to be newly placed in the refrigerator or taken out of the refrigerator It is determined whether the item is to be re-inserted after being once taken out of the refrigerator.

In this determination, when the information of the foodstuff read by the barcode sensor 2 is not stored in the storage database 5, it is determined that the foodstuff is to be newly stored in the refrigerator. If the information of the foodstuff read by the barcode sensor 2 is stored in the storage database 5, this foodstuff is determined to be taken out of the refrigerator and read by the barcode sensor 2. Food information is stored database 5
When the information inside / outside the refrigerator is set in the information outside the refrigerator, it is determined that the information is once taken out of the refrigerator and then put back in again.

When it is determined that the ingredient is a newly added ingredient, the ingredient information extracting unit 3 sets the new storage date as the purchase date and sets the information inside and outside the refrigerator of the ingredient as information in the refrigerator. The information is stored in the storage database 5 together with a food name indicating the type of the food read by the barcode sensor 2 and the like.

When it is determined that the food is extracted from the refrigerator, the food information extracting unit 3 detects the extracted date and time information and notifies the external food management unit 4 of the extracted date and time information. This allows the external food management unit 4 to set the timer T, which is the time during which the food is placed outside.
To monitor the external time, accumulate the counted timer T in the storage database 5, and accumulate the removal date / time information in the storage database 5 corresponding to the food. Updates the information inside / outside the refrigerator to the information outside the refrigerator.

Further, if the food information extracting unit 3 determines that the food is once taken out of the refrigerator and then re-added, it detects the re-insertion date and time and sets a timer T which is the external time T of the food. And the removal date and time information,
In addition, the re-input date information is notified to the external food management unit 4,
This allows the timer T counted by the external food management unit 4 to be counted.
Is stopped, and the stored material database 5 is updated so that the in-fridge / out-of-fridge information of the food is changed to the in-fridge information.

Further, in the refrigerator of the second embodiment, since the weight sensor 11 is provided, the weight of the foodstuff newly added to the refrigerator and the weight sensor 11 are once taken out of the refrigerator by using the weight sensor 11. The weight of the foodstuff to be added again later is measured, and the measured weight is stored in the storage database 5 as shown in FIG. In addition, the weight measurement of the foodstuff by the weight sensor 11 can be performed from the weight immediately before putting the foodstuff into the refrigerator and the weight change immediately after putting the foodstuff into the refrigerator.

Next, the external food management unit 4 receives the food extraction date and time and the re-input date and time detected by the food information extraction unit 3 as described above, and based on the food extraction date and time, the external food is stored outside the refrigerator. The measurement of the time taken out is started, and the external time T that is the measured time, that is, the timer T is stored in the storage database 5 and the external time T is monitored, and the external time T is equal to or longer than the predetermined time Th. When it becomes, it is determined that the foodstuff has been used outside the refrigerator, and storage information on the foodstuff is deleted from the storage information database. In addition, the food information extraction unit 3
, The counting of the external time T is stopped, and the storage database 5
The timer T, which is the external time T accumulated in the timer T, is deleted from the data.

Next, the operation of the above-mentioned food information extracting unit 3 and the external food management unit 4 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The food information extraction unit 3 newly stores the food read by the barcode sensor in the refrigerator based on the food information such as the type of food read by the barcode sensor 2 and the storage information stored in the storage database 5. A food condition determination is made as to whether the food is to be put in, to be taken out of the refrigerator, or to be put in again after being taken out of the refrigerator (step S11). If the result of this food situation determination is that the new food is to be registered as a food to be newly placed in the refrigerator (step S13), as described above, the type of the food, the name of the food, the date of purchase, and the information in the refrigerator Are stored in the storage database 5 and registered, and in the case of the second embodiment, the weight of the foodstuff measured by the weight sensor 11 is also stored in the storage database 5 (step S15).

When it is determined that the foodstuffs extracted from the refrigerator are registered as external foodstuffs (step S17), the foodstuff information extracting unit 3 detects the date and time of the foodstuffs to be taken out and stores the information on the date and time of the external foodstuffs. This is notified to the management unit 4, whereby the external food management unit 4 starts counting the timer T, which is the external time T during which the food is placed outside (step S19), and monitors the external time T. At the same time (step S21), the timer T, which is the external time T, is stored in the storage database 5, and when the external time T exceeds a predetermined time Th, the food is used outside the refrigerator. Is determined, and the storage information regarding the food is deleted from the storage database 5 (step S23). In addition, the food information extraction unit 3 updates the information on the inside / outside of the refrigerator of the food to the information on the outside of the refrigerator in the storage database 5.

If the food information extracting unit 3 determines that the existing food is registered as a food that is once taken out of the refrigerator and then re-added (step S27), the food information extracting unit 3 detects the re-insertion date and time. And external food management department 4
To stop the counting and monitoring of the timer T, which is the external time T counted by the external food management unit 4 (step S25), and
The storage database 5 is updated so that the outside information is changed to the information in the refrigerator. In the second embodiment, the weight of the food is measured by the weight sensor 11, and the weight is used, that is, the weight reduced by use. The data in the storage database 5 is updated, and the timer T, which is the external time T stored in the storage database 5, and the extraction date information are also deleted (step S29).

Further, with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, a more detailed process of the foodstuff information extracting unit 3 will be described. When information such as a food name read by the barcode sensor 2 is input, the food information extraction unit 3 collates the input food name with the food name stored in the storage database 5 (step S31). ), It is determined whether or not the food such as the food name read by the barcode sensor 2 is the food already registered in the storage database 5, that is, whether or not the food is already stored in the refrigerator. (Step S33). If the ingredient is not already registered, it is determined that the ingredient is a new ingredient registration, and the ingredient name, purchase date, refrigerator information, and the like of this ingredient are newly registered in the storage database 5 (step S35). The date of purchase is the date when the food is newly placed in the refrigerator, but is not limited to this.

In the second embodiment, the newly registered foodstuff to be put into the refrigerator is first put into the refrigerator in order to measure the weight of the foodstuff using the weight sensor 11. The total weight of the refrigerator immediately before or the total weight WA of the ingredients in the refrigerator is measured and extracted (step S37), and the weight WB immediately after the ingredients are put into the refrigerator and changed is measured by the weight sensor 11. Extraction is performed (step S39), and the difference W between both weights is subtracted from WA from WB, thereby calculating the weight of the foodstuff (step S41). Then, the food weight W calculated in this way is also stored in the storage database 5 (step S43).

If the food information extraction unit 3 determines in the determination in step S33 that the food is already registered in the storage database 5, that is, the food is already stored in the refrigerator, Referring to the information inside / outside the refrigerator of the foodstuff registered in the storage database 5, it is determined whether or not the foodstuff has been in the refrigerator so far and is the foodstuff taken out of the refrigerator now. (Step S47). If so, it is determined that the registration is an external foodstuff registration, the inside / outside refrigerator information registered in the storage database 5 is updated as outside refrigerator information (step S49), and the extracted date and time information is stored in the outside. It notifies the food management unit 4 and starts measuring the external time T during which the food is placed outside.

In addition, the ingredient information extracting unit 3 determines in step S4
In the determination of 7, when it is determined that the food is in the refrigerator and is not the food taken out of the refrigerator, that is, the food is outside and the food is now put in the refrigerator again. When it is determined that it is an existing foodstuff registration, the information inside / outside the refrigerator of the storage database 5 is first updated to the information inside the refrigerator as the foodstuff that has returned to the storage database 5 from outside. The timer T, which is the external time T for monitoring that the food has been placed outside, is deleted from the storage database 5 (step S51). Then, in order to measure the weight of the food returned from the outside, the weight WA is measured using the weight sensor 11 immediately before the food is placed in the refrigerator (step S53), and then the food is placed in the refrigerator. The weight WB immediately after the change is measured (step S5).
5), subtracting WA from WB from the difference W between the two weights, thereby calculating the weight of the food (step S57), and updating the weight stored in the storage database 5 with the calculated weight W of the food. (Step S59). In addition, the food information extracting unit 3 notifies the external food management unit 4 of re-input information that the food has been re-entered into the refrigerator, thereby stopping the counting and monitoring of the external time T in the external food management unit 4. .

Next, the processing of the external foodstuff management unit 4 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. When notified of the date and time when the food is taken out from the food information extraction unit 3, the external food management unit 4 starts the timer T indicating the external time T during which the food is taken out and measures the time. Is started, and the measured external time T, which is the timer T, is stored in the storage database 5 (step S61). Then, the external time T is compared with a predetermined elapsed time threshold Th to determine whether the external time T is greater than the predetermined elapsed time threshold Th (step S6).
3). The predetermined elapsed time threshold value Th is a threshold value at which the foodstuff is considered to have been used when the foodstuff has been outside for more than this time. This value is set to, for example, about one day. Is done.

When the outside time T of the foodstuffs that have been delivered to the outside becomes greater than a predetermined elapsed time threshold Th, the foodstuffs are regarded as being used up, and the registration of the foodstuffs is registered in the storage database 5. (Step S65)
In addition, the monitoring of the external time for the food is ended (step S67). Note that the monitoring of the external time is also ended when the food information extracting unit 3 notifies the external food management unit 4 of the re-input date and time information as described above.

Next, the purchase candidate extraction unit 7 compares the purchase date of each food stored in the storage database 5 with the expiration date of the corresponding food stored in the determination information database 6. Then, the information on the ingredients whose expiration date is approaching is extracted as purchase candidate ingredient information or recommended consumption ingredients, that is, the ingredient recommending that it is better to consume early because the expiration date is approaching.

FIG. 9 shows the operation of the purchase candidate extracting unit 7.
This will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The operation of the purchase candidate extracting unit 7 includes a process from the expiration date of the food and a process from the remaining amount of the food as described in the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 9, the processing of the purchase candidate extracting section 7 starts from the processing of the expiration date of the foodstuff, and first, the number of days of expiration date Y of each foodstuff stored in the storage database 5 is calculated. It is extracted from the judgment information database 6 (step S71). Then, the number of elapsed days X from the purchase date of each ingredient is calculated from the current date and the purchase date (step S73), and the difference X is calculated by subtracting the number of elapsed days X from the expiration date Y. (Step S75). Then, it is determined whether or not the calculated difference Z is smaller than a predetermined set value Zh (step S77). If the difference Z is smaller than the predetermined set value Zh, the difference is output as a recommended purchase ingredient or a recommended consumption ingredient (step S79).

In the determination in step S77,
If the difference Z is not smaller than the predetermined set value Zh, the process shifts to processing from the remaining amount of the foodstuff. This processing is performed in the second and third embodiments. In this processing, first, the weight W of each foodstuff registered in the storage database 5 is extracted (step S81). Then, a predetermined remaining weight threshold value WTh of the foodstuff registered in the storage database 5 is extracted from the determination information database 6 shown in FIG. 8 (step S83). Then, it is determined whether or not the weight W of each ingredient is smaller than a predetermined remaining weight threshold value WTh (step S85). If the remaining weight W of the ingredient is smaller than the predetermined remaining weight threshold value WTh, this ingredient is purchased. It is output as a recommended foodstuff or a consumption recommended foodstuff (step S87).

Next, the menu extracting section 9 will be described. The menu extraction unit 9 selects the ingredients whose expiration date is imminent or the ingredients whose quantity is small, among the ingredients stored in the storage database 5.
That is, menus are extracted by using ingredients with a small remaining amount (foods that the user wants to use up), and purchase candidate ingredient information or consumption recommended ingredients extracted by the purchase candidate extraction unit 7 and input from the basic information input unit 1. Based on the basic information such as the number of people who have been selected, the menu stored in the menu database 8 and the information on the ingredients, menu information that can be prepared with the purchase candidate ingredients and information on missing ingredients that are lacking in the menu are extracted. If there are a plurality of extracted menus, for example, the menus are presented in the order in which the amount of ingredients that the user wants to use up can be reduced.

Finally, the information output unit 10 supplies the purchase candidate ingredient information or the recommended consumption ingredient information extracted by the purchase candidate extraction unit 7, the menu information extracted by the menu extraction unit 9, and the deficiency lacking in this menu. Display food information. Users can see this display to know what should be purchased next or what ingredients should be used sooner, and what menu items can be prepared from the ingredients currently in the refrigerator. Yes, you can quickly and accurately know what foods are missing in this menu. When the input means of the basic information input unit 1 and the food information input unit 12 are configured by a touch panel, the information output unit 10, the basic information input unit 1, and the food information input unit 12 are configured by one screen. It is also possible.

[0057]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Based on the information of the food to be put in and out of the refrigerator and the storage information in the storage information database, it is determined whether the food is newly input into the refrigerator, food taken out from the refrigerator, or re-input, and In the case, the type of ingredients, the date of purchase, and the information in the refrigerator are stored in a database.
Updates the database to the information outside the refrigerator, updates the database to the information in the refrigerator in the case of re-input ingredients, measures the external time when the food is out of the refrigerator based on the extraction date and time information, and If it is over time,
The ingredient is determined to have been used, and is deleted from the stored information relating to the ingredient. Further, the purchase date of each ingredient in the database is compared with the expiration date. / Menu items that are extracted as recommended / consumable recommended food information and are stored in the candidate / consumable recommended food information and menu database and menu information that can be cooked with the candidate / consumed recommended ingredients based on the menu information and the menu items are insufficient. Extract and output the missing food information
The user can accurately know the ingredients whose expiration date is approaching, and also know the menu that uses this ingredient and the ingredients that are missing in this menu, forgetting the expiration date, Wastes such as throwing away food materials can be eliminated, and economy can be achieved.

Further, according to the present invention, the weight of the foodstuffs put into the refrigerator is measured and stored in the database, and the predetermined remaining weight threshold value which should be kept at least in the refrigerator for each foodstuff is also stored in the database. , And the weight of each ingredient is compared with a predetermined remaining weight threshold value, and information on the ingredient with a small remaining quantity is extracted as purchase candidate ingredient / consumption recommended ingredient information, so that the user has a small remaining amount. In addition to knowing the ingredients that are missing, you can also know the menu that uses the ingredients that are low in remaining amount, so that you can not cook because the remaining amount of ingredients is small, It is possible to solve the problem that the space in the refrigerator cannot be used effectively because the foodstuff with less amount uses the space in the refrigerator.

Further, according to the present invention, even when there is no bar code in the food to be put in the refrigerator, the food information is input by the food information input means, and the bar code output means encodes and outputs the bar code. Also, foods without barcodes can be managed in the refrigerator.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external structure of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention and a block diagram showing a circuit configuration.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an external structure of a refrigerator according to a second embodiment of the present invention and a block diagram showing a circuit configuration.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an external structure of a refrigerator according to a third embodiment of the present invention and a block diagram showing a circuit configuration.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of a food information extraction unit and an external food management unit used in the refrigerator of each embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of a food information extraction unit used in the refrigerator of each embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation of an external food management unit used in the refrigerator of each embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of accumulated data in a storage database used in the refrigerator of each embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of accumulated data of a determination information database used in the refrigerator of each embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of a purchase candidate extraction unit used in the refrigerator of each embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of accumulated data in a menu database used in the refrigerator of each embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Basic information input part 2 Barcode sensor 3 Food information extraction part 4 External food management part 5 Stock database 6 Judgment information database 7 Purchase candidate extraction part 8 Menu database 9 Menu extraction part 10 Information output part 11 Weight sensor 12 Food information input Unit 13 Barcode output unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yasuhito Kono 3-19-2 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo East Japan Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (72) Inventor Mio Hosoya Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Chome No. 19-2 Tohnichi Honshin Telegraph and Telephone Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 3L045 AA02 LA18 NA16 NA19

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A refrigerator for managing food information including the expiration date of foods stored therein and outputting food planning information including purchase candidate foods and menus, wherein each food and refrigerator stored in the refrigerator is provided. Stores stored information including information on the inside / outside of the refrigerator, which is information on the type of each ingredient taken out of the refrigerator after being stored in the refrigerator, the date of purchase, and whether or not the food is stored in the refrigerator. Based on the storage information database and the information on the ingredients to be put in and taken out and the storage information stored in the storage information database, whether the food to be put in and out is to be newly placed in the refrigerator, Judge whether the food is to be taken out of the refrigerator or to be put back in after being taken out of the refrigerator. In this case, the type of the food, the date of purchase, and the inside / outside information of the refrigerator set as the information in the refrigerator are stored in the storage information database, and when the food is taken out of the refrigerator, the taken out is taken out. In addition to detecting the date and time, the storage information database is changed so that the information inside / outside the refrigerator of the food is changed to the information outside the refrigerator. A foodstuff information management means for detecting the input date and time and updating the storage information database so as to change the information inside / outside the refrigerator of the foodstuff into information in the refrigerator; and a date and time for taking out the foodstuff detected by the foodstuff information management means. Receiving the information, measuring the external time when the food is taken out of the refrigerator based on the information on the date and time of taking out the food, In the case described above, it is determined that the food is used outside the refrigerator, the storage information on the food is deleted from the storage information database, and the re-input date and time information is measured during the measurement of the external time. Received, the external food management means for stopping the measurement, the determination information database storing the determination information including the expiration date information for each food stored in the refrigerator, and the storage information database. The purchase date of each ingredient is compared with the expiration date of the corresponding ingredient stored in the determination information database, and information on the ingredients nearing the expiration date is extracted as purchase candidate ingredients / consumption recommended ingredient information. A purchase candidate extracting means for outputting, a menu database for storing menu items of food and information on ingredients as raw materials thereof, and a purchase extracted by the purchase candidate extracting means. Based on the candidate food / consumption recommended food information and the menu stored in the menu database and the food information, menu information that can be cooked with the purchase candidate food / consumption recommended food and the missing food information that is missing in this menu are extracted. A refrigerator having menu extracting means for outputting. 2. A refrigerator that manages food information including the expiration date of food stored therein and outputs food candidate planning information and food planning information including menus. Input means for inputting basic information including the number of people required to calculate the amount of food, and the food information including the type of food, which is pasted on the food that is put into the refrigerator and the food that is taken out of the refrigerator A barcode sensor that reads barcodes, the types of ingredients stored in the refrigerator and the types of ingredients that have been stored in the refrigerator and then removed from the refrigerator, the date of purchase, and whether they are stored in the refrigerator A storage information database for storing storage information including information on the inside / outside of the refrigerator, which is information on whether or not, and information on external time being taken out of the refrigerator to the outside; Based on the food information read by the code sensor and the stored information stored in the stored information database, the food read by the barcode sensor is to be newly placed in the refrigerator or to be taken out of the refrigerator. It is determined whether there is or what is to be re-added after being once taken out of the refrigerator, and if it is a newly added foodstuff, set this new storage date as the purchase date, Refrigerator inside / outside information of the food is set as refrigerator information, and is stored in the storage information database together with the type of the food. If the food is taken out of the refrigerator, the date and time information to be taken out is detected. At the same time, the information inside / outside the refrigerator of the food is updated to the information outside the refrigerator. If the ingredients are
A foodstuff information management means for erasing the external time information of the foodstuff from the storage information database and updating the storage information database so as to change the inside / outside refrigerator information of the foodstuff into the refrigerator information; Receiving date and time information of the foodstuff detected by the management means, measuring the external time during which the foodstuff is taken out of the refrigerator based on the food and time information of the foodstuff, and storing the measured external time in the storage information database. And, when the external time is equal to or longer than a predetermined time, the food is determined to have been used outside the refrigerator,
External food management means for erasing storage information relating to the food from the storage information database and stopping the counting when the re-input date and time information is received during the measurement of the external time; and stored in the refrigerator. A judgment information database for accumulating judgment information including expiration date information for each ingredient, a purchase date of each ingredient stored in the storage information database, and a corresponding respective ingredient stored in the judgment information database; A purchase candidate extracting means for comparing the expiration date of the food with the expiration date of the food as candidate food / consumption recommended food information; a menu of dishes and a menu database for accumulating information of the ingredients as raw materials; The purchase candidate food / consumption recommended food information extracted by the purchase candidate extraction means, the basic information input from the input means, and Menu extraction means for extracting menu information that can be prepared with purchase candidate ingredients / recommended consumption ingredients based on the menus stored in the menu database and the ingredient information thereof, and information on insufficient ingredients missing in the menu; and said purchase candidate extraction. A refrigerator having output means for outputting purchase candidate food / consumption recommended food information extracted by the means, menu information extracted by the menu extraction means, and information on the missing ingredients. 3. The storage information database further stores weight information of the foodstuff measured by the weight measurement means corresponding to the foodstuff, further comprising a weight measurement means for measuring the weight of the foodstuff put in the refrigerator. The determination information database further accumulates a predetermined remaining weight threshold value that is to be stored at least in the refrigerator for each foodstuff, and the purchase candidate extraction unit is accumulated in the storage information database. The weight of each ingredient is compared with a predetermined remaining weight threshold value of the corresponding ingredient stored in the determination information database, and information on the remaining ingredient is extracted as the purchase candidate ingredient / consumption recommended ingredient information. 3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the refrigerator is used. 4. Ingredient information input means for inputting ingredient information including the type of ingredient desired to be encoded and recorded on a bar code attached to the ingredient put in the refrigerator, and the ingredient information input by the ingredient information input means 4. A refrigerator according to claim 2, further comprising bar code output means for encoding and outputting a bar code to be attached to food.